Five stories you may have missed

In case you missed them, Luxembourg Times has selected five top news stories of the week for you

lt staff

26.01.2019

Don't forget to chill out this weekendPhoto: Chris Karaba

Luxembourg's community is dynamic, latest surveys show. However the country needs to tackle social and real estate issues and solve its mobility dilemma.

At least consumer protection is gaining recognition and support from the government and law makers.

If Brexit is still making headlines this week, don't forget to chill out with our weekend stories.

Our community is dynamic

More than 13,000 people became Luxembourgish citizens in 2018. Since a new law of April 2017 making it easier to become a Luxembourger, the number of people obtaining Luxembourgish nationality has increased more than fourfold.

Schools elsewhere are set to follow. A three-year course in administrative studies will be offered at the Lycée Technique de Bonnevoie in Luxembourg City, and the international school in Differdange will also have a new course.

Rich Luxembourg needs to tackle social issues

Country shall tackle social issues

Poverty in Luxembourg remains high. The country has one of the EU highest rates of working people at risk of poverty, data shows.

Consumer protection gains support

Class action lawsuits, food safety and quality of the product are the three hot topics on the agenda of the former judge of the Administrative Court and former director of national institute of public administration (INAP), who is also in charge of the Ministry of Development Cooperation.

Ryanair forced to pay compensation in Luxembourg. Three people have been awarded compensation from Irish budget airline Ryanair after their flights were cancelled.

The scheme will cost €41 million and be funded through taxes. Bausch confirmed that jobs of ticket inspectors are safe.

Free fare transport, which has been presented as a social measure, is part of the government’s mobility strategy Modu 2.0. The project however, does not aim at drastically reducing the number of cars crossing the country every day.

Coincidently during this week, the 55th Autofestival started on 26 January and will run until 4 February 2019. 75 garages are taking part to the event countrywide in a total cumulative showroom space of 60,000m2. Car dealers will propose special promotions and discounts. Most banks offer festival loan and lease terms at discounted rates. The event is organised by ADAL and FEGARLUX.

Free public transport in all buses, trains and trams to start on 1 March 2020Photo: Shutterstock

"However, this figure may be influenced by non-residing cross-border workers, who use company cars registered in the Grand Duchy," Eurostat details.

Brexit makes further headlines

'Backstop is not the central issue'. In an interview with Diego Velazquez of the Luxemburger Wort - a sister publication from Luxembourg Times - European Commission's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said that "the backstop is like an insurance. It is not there to be used. "

"And if so, only provisionally. However, we cannot tie the backstop to a time limit," he added.

Because of Brexit, a majority of financial companies that received a license in Luxembourg last year moved to the country. Out of 80 new licenses granted to banks, asset management companies, insurers and investment firms in 2018, 47 were for companies that have publicly announced to relocate some of their activities because of the impending departure of the UK from the European Union.

Companies started showing interest in residential units in September last year – as the six-month countdown to the scheduled withdrawal date started ticking – according to Robby Cluyssen, senior consultant in the residential market for property consultancy firm Jones Lang LaSalle.